Work Diary - Shape

Evaluation 

In Thursday's session we were asked to go out and shoot the formal element shape. This proved to be one of my favourite formal elements to take a photo of as it meant I had to look for certain things with an interesting outline, as shape is portrayed through an object having an outline. Shape is found in practically everything just like the formal element line. It is obvious in nearly all of my straight images what the subject is because shape comes with a single object, which is what I was photographing. The only thing that  I found difficult was trying to take pictures of objects high up that had an interesting shape, as it was a challenge trying to steady the camera  before shooting.

This was one of my favourite photographs from the shoot where we took photo's portraying an object to have the formal element 'shape' through it's outline. I believe that the outline of this leaf is extremely effective contrasting against the dark background of other leaves. The bright yellow outline stands out and therefore illustrates this leaf as having a very precise shape. If this leaf had other leaves of a similar colour in the background the outline would be less evident making the photograph less effective.

This was a picture I took that didn't cover 'shape' very effectviely. The face of this 3D shape blends in with the background that it's sitting on. I therefore felt that the shape of this 3D object was deceiving because the outline wasn't as clear as it could be, and the outline is the main feauture when it comes to shape being portrayed. I therefore moved this object onto another background to improve it, and it ended up being included in my straight images. So this began as a bad example of the formal element shape, but I then improved it to create an excellent example of shape.

Progression

If I were to progress myself when taking pictures of shape I would perhaps use people's shadows  when the sun's shining on them as this would create their shadow as a silhouette which has an outline, therefore meaning that it also has a shape. I don't think that I'd focus on  random objects as these wouldn't have much meaning when in a portfolio together. Whereas with people's shadows they could make different shapes with their bodies to create intriguing outlines. Photographs that inspire me for this are illustrated below.

Straight Images - Shape

Straight Images - Studio Form 1

Mid Project Evaluation

I have found these past few weeks in photography to be not that much of a struggle, except for the last couple of lessons. I have made sure that I've kept on top of all of my work and handed homework in for the date that it's due. Although the work I've been set so far has been an extremely large amount, I've managed to get through it on the first few nights after it's set to avoid becoming stressed out. I'm really enjoying the photography lesson and it's actually one of my favourites. 

Onto the topic of the last couple of lessons, creating a photojoiner piece has been my enemy. I found sizing and editing each individual picture to be a challenge, along with using the photoshop tools and layers to finalise the finished image. I will continue to work at this topic and perhaps take more appropriate photos to ensure I am able to create a photojoiner piece that looks more professional. 

One of the main things that's I've enjoyed in photography is editing my straight images. I really enjoy using the variety of editing tools on photoshop because they can bring an image to life through just a few clicks and drags of the mouse. 

Photography so far has been a success and I'm sure that it won't become anymore daunting or stressful over the next few months; hopefully.

Straight Images - Texture

Work Diary - Photojoiner

Evaluation

I found taking photos to create a photojoiner image to be really entertaining. I was able to take as many pictures of something as I liked and it allowed me to play around with these in photoshop, choosing the best picture with the best angle to include somewhere amongst the collage. What I did find difficult however was judging the amount of photos I took; did I take enough? Did I get the right angles? etc. Creating a photojoiner piece also proved to be a challenge in photoshop when I was trying to make it look the best it could be. I also struggled with creating the overal photojoiner in the beginning as the layers didn't like me very much. However, when I went out to reshoot my "person" photojoiner, the pictures that I captured moulded together a lot easier. Therefore, I discovered that it was the type of picture that was more my problem, not the layers. My finished photojoiner of a person ended up becoming my favourite one, so reshooting it was a positive.

The reason that I found this photo joiner to be my most successful was because you can tell what it is without it being so obvious. The pictures that I took allowed me to create a photo joiner that worked, whereas when I tried to do my other photo joiner with the other pictures it didn't work at all. I took more close ups with Josh so that I had more to work with. I also like the fact that he has three legs in the picture, when in real life he has only two but his three legs are portrayed discretely through the image being a photo joiner. 

Out of the three photo joiners that I made, I'd say that this one was my least successful. Even though it looks like a photo joiner because the subject is not clear, the pictures that I took didn't mould together very effectively. I took a lot of different angles of the building so some didn't fit as well as they could have. Something that I do quite like is the quirkiness of the enlarged door handle as this makes the photo joiner even more interesting as the viewer will focus on this, so the image being larger means that it's a focal point.

Progression

For my progression, I would love to create a photojoiner picture of a face close up so I could jumble up the facial features and be creative with it. I'm also interested in taking multiple pictures of two faces next to eachother and making a photojoiner image that includes their features mixed with eachothers, so one side of their noses could be on the other persons face etc. I'd like to perfect my pictures until I created a photojoiner photograph that looked slightly professional. An example of a close up photo joiner of a face that inspires me has been inserted below. Lots of tiny pictures of her facial features have been taken so that this was the result, and I really like it.

Work Diary - Texture

Evaluation

In Thursday's session, I found taking pictures of texture really enjoyable. There was no need for me to wander off campus to search for this formal element, as texture is found in so many places just as long as you look hard enough. I found more rough and jagged surfaces than I did smooth. It wasn't too difficult to find rough textures in certain objects and places as the shine from the sun emphasised the texture of something through shadows. Shadows made it evident if something was bumpy or in an irregular arrangement, so this emphasised the ridged texture of something. I enjoyed taking pictures of close ups, as the detail of texture was more defined and visible through close up photographs. If I were to take a picture of something from afar, texture would not be portrayed as effectively because there would be no evident detail, the only focus of the picture would be the actual subject.

This photograph demonstrates a rough texture extremely effectively because the rips in the paint is evident through the dark lines. If someone was to run their fingers across this texture they'd experience many bumps and dents as ripped paint is the complete opposite of smooth. This photograph also conveys pattern from the range of positions that the rips are located in. The assortment of rips in the paint demonstrates how the texture is even more rough and jagged than it would be if there were just a couple of flaws.

This photograph, I believe, does not portray the formal element 'texture'. The shadows don't emphasise texture in any way because shadow is supposed to make rough textures more clear, whereas in this picture the texture is in fact smooth. There may be drops in the radiator, however these are supposed to be there so it doesn't emphasise texture in any way. This image however looks more smooth than anything which could be classed as a texture, however a smooth texture wasn't my intention when taking this photograph which is why I felt it was an unsuccessful piece.

Progression

If I could re-shoot the formal element texture I would like to focus on clothing. Clothing contains such a variety of textures, from soft but bumpy textures on knitted jumpers to silky smooth textures on shirts and blouses. A few example pictures of these are shown below. Taking pictures of texture through clothing also covers the formal element colour. I enjoyed taking pictures of different textures in bricks and flooring, so maybe I could further these types of photographs if I were to re-shoot also. However, clothing is my main focus so this would be what my first choice would be if I were to retake photographs of texture.